


Creeping Corruption

by Star_Fangirl_Forever



Category: The Shadowhunter Chronicles - Cassandra Clare
Genre: 1000 words, Angst, Cassandra Clare - Freeform, Chapter 1, Corruption, Disease, Emma Carstairs - Freeform, Evil, F/M, Illness, Isabelle Lightwood - Freeform, Jace HERONDALE - Freeform, Julian Blackthorn - Freeform, Kit Herondale - Freeform, Max lightwood-bane - Freeform, Pain, Shadowhunters - Freeform, Simon Lewis - Freeform, Survivors, Ty Blackthorn - Freeform, clary fairchild - Freeform, jem carstairs - Freeform, jessa - Freeform, livvy blackthorn - Freeform, mina carstairs - Freeform, rafe lightwood-bane - Freeform, tavvy blackthorn - Freeform, tessa gray - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-01
Updated: 2020-07-07
Packaged: 2021-03-04 21:13:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,961
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25022962
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Star_Fangirl_Forever/pseuds/Star_Fangirl_Forever
Summary: I don't know how to describe this.Incurable disease kills all Shadowhunters.
Relationships: Jem Carstairs/Tessa Gray
Comments: 12
Kudos: 10





	1. The Death & The Reaping

It started slowly. Slowly, ever so slowly, it crept in. Never killing, only ailing people for a few days. With a small cough perhaps. Or maybe a stomachache. The most worrying thing however, was that iratzes didn’t help. And neither did anything else. Runes vanished into ill Shadowhunter’s skin as they and the others gathered waited in anxious anticipation for the aches and pains plaguing them to vanish. But they didn’t. Herb mixtures and concoctions vanished down throats, leading to the same result. Finally, the Shadowhunter would be sent back to bed to rest, not knowing what else to do. Sadly, that was only the beginning. 

The disease started spreading about a year after it first appeared. Shadowhunters, who had managed to boost their population in the previous years, began falling sick at an alarming rate. The Council, Clave, Covenant, and Consul all turned blind eyes to the pain and pleas of grieving families. Families who awoke to their loved ones dead in their beds. Brave, strong Shadowhunters that had been felled in their sleep by a creeping corruption. The dead showed no outward or inward signs of disease. They were simply… dead. Given time to grow, shift, and evolve, the illness worsened. Fed by ignorance, apathy, government corruption, and callousness. Soon, the ones who died first would be the ones considered lucky. 

Finally, when so many died that it could no longer be ignored, true hell descended. Forced into quarantine, families huddled in their Institutes, praying that they would avoid the evil gaze of this plague. Very few did. Communication was forbidden. Leaving the Institute was forbidden. Retrieving food from the outside world was forbidden. A civilization that had been around since the dawn of time took less than one month to crumble into anarchy. The people who hid early thought themselves lucky. Biding their time, they waited for this to blow over so they could emerge and greet the survivors. But by the end of this, there would be nothing and nobody left to greet. 

All across the world, agonizingly slowly, the Institutes fell silent. One by one, the lights of life residing there were snuffed out and the magnificent structures stood empty. Somehow, despite the layers of restrictions and procedures and caution, the plague snuck in. It always found a way. And once it was in, nothing could stop it. Its victims fell prey to awful hallucinations, violent fevers, and extreme paranoia. Once it breached an Institute, everyone there was at risk. Once it breached an Institute, everyone there was lost. Lost with no chance of salvation

The Los Angeles Institute was the first to succumb in the USA. Huddling in its halls, haunting the empty dusty rooms, the Blackthorns, Kit, and Emma prayed for survival. When they awoke to find Dru lying silently in her bed, no longer in the world of the living, all hope was snuffed out like a candle. All the family could do was watch as their loved ones perished, one by one. Emma was the last one alive in that building. She was preceded by Ty and Livvy, who died side by side, as they always had been. Tavvy had vanished without a trace, never to be seen again by the living. Kit had also vanished. Emma died hugging Julian close, all the while shaking, freezing cold and burning hot at the same time, wondering why this was the place and time her life and so many others had to end. 

The New York Institute was next. It was an Institute that fought violently on its way out, but lost in the end anyway. Alec was not there, as he had gone to live with Magnus, but everyone that was there battled the plague in every way they could. But after weeks and weeks of self-imposed isolation and not seeing another living person, barely eating and drinking enough to survive, and no news of the outside world, Clary, Jace, Isabelle, and Simon and the other teenage Shadowhunters let the plague take them. No longer mustering the will to fight, they left the Institute and let it take them and rip them apart. After that, the remaining Shadowhunters ceased to live. Becoming bags of bones and skin, they ceased to live and simply existed. But with time, even their souls would cross the barrier between the living and the dead. 

Magnus, Alec, Rafe and Max were holed up in Magnus’s apartment. It was going surprisingly well. The kids were healthy as were Magnus and Alec. There were even days that the couple dreamed they could survive and live on even if others didn’t. However, karma struck back and theirs was a special surreal nightmare when Max and Rafe vanished without a trace. One day there, the next day gone. Magnus and Alec, searching for them as best they could, eventually gave up and stopped looking. Sitting alone in the dark New York apartment, Magnus and Alec slowly wasted away, Magnus’s magic doing nothing to stop the advance of this terrible disease once it struck Alec and took his life within the day. Hugging his love close, Magnus closed his eyes, and saw no more. 

With the Shadowhunter world crashing and burning, the mundanes immune and unknowing, Tessa, Jem, and Mina held steadfast against the outside world in their home. And they were somewhat successful. They outlasted the rest of the Shadowhunters. However, even Jem and Tessa, who had conquered and beaten many obstacles in their lifetime, could not beat this. One day, they awoke to find Mina gone. Their precious, beautiful daughter, disappeared. Gone. Vanished. Sobbing, Tessa clung to Jem, who hugged her close, all the while silently sobbing. However, both silently agreed that they couldn’t give up. So the pair silently went back to their daily routine, vowing all the while that they would unravel this deadly mystery. 

It took so little time. Every single Shadowhunter that walked the Earth died, and not even in peace. Some took their own lives from the hallucinations or the paranoia. Others perished from the fevers. Some just went to bed and never woke up. The worst were the ones who allowed their mind to be twisted and reworked, made to see everyone as an enemy. The ones who’s psychology ended up being the death of them. But no matter how, no matter why, and no matter when, every single Shadowhunter died. But maybe that’s inaccurate. The children didn’t die. They vanished, just as if they had never been there, leaving wailing, blood, and pain behind. And of course there was Tessa and Jem. The lone warrior survivors in a world that was about to become worse then even imagination could conjure. Who knows. Maybe, if the problem had been addressed earlier, a cure could have been found. But now we will never know.


	2. The Horde

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What happened before and after chapter 1.   
> However, this is from a different perspective.

Ever so slowly, they planned. Laying out an intricate formulated plan, they waited. Time is meaningless in their dimension anyway. Darkness creeps and crawls, evil roams the heartbreakingly empty landscape. Corruption runs rampant in this dimension that is darker and colder than the void itself. However, as the geniuses of all ages agree, life is adaptable. It can force its way in at any time in most any place. So it wouldn’t be surprising when forms emerged. Materializing out of cracks and crevices, out of places that defy the laws of physics. Unimaginable amounts of time passed before these creatures decided they wanted another world. So when they found a perfect one, they decided they would go to drastic measures to get it. 

So, over millennia, they built themselves a civilization and waited for the opportune time. Waited, surrounded by swirling darkness and night. With time, they learned to blend in to the night. Fed and nurtured by hate and pain and bitterness and jealousy. So when the time finally came, there was no hesitation and there was no regret. There was only effective and cold efficiency. 

Tails snapped and coiled, ready and eager.

Mouths full of teeth growled and hissed and snarled, begging to be released. 

Bodies covered in scales and plates, dripping acid and molten lava, shifted into positions. 

And minds prepared themselves. Prepared themselves to be ruthless and quick. Prepared to strike when the enemies were weakest. 

When the barrier between their two worlds opened, the horde silently moved through it. Carrying out the steps they had each been assigned. And once that was done, they settled themselves in the forgotten corners of the world. And waited. It didn’t take long for Stage 1 to succeed. The collective hive mind recognized this, and moved on to Stage 2. They swept in, becoming one with the night, and took the young. Ignoring the struggling, screaming, and begging, they snatched the little ones from their beds and vanished back into their own world, sealing the gateway behind them. They were neither aware or affected by anything they left behind. 

That day, there would be a message echoing over the alien dimension. As weapons were gathered and strategies were set. The language was alien, very much not English. However, if it could be translated into English, it would resemble this. 

“Congratulations soldiers. Stages 1 & 2 have been completed successfully.” A pause. “As soon as the door is opened, proceed to your positions. And when you’re given the signal, do not hesitate. We are on the brink of victory.” Another pause. 

“Kill them all.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed this chapter! 
> 
> Leave any thoughts or suggestions in the comments!


	3. The Reckoning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Continuation of chapter 2. 
> 
> What will happen to the surviving people?

Jem and Tessa stood on a windblown cliff, looking out over the village below. It had once been a bustling tourist town, bright and full of life. Now, it was a ghost. A graveyard for the lives that had been led here. That is, before the entire population of the town vanished without a trace, leaving nothing behind. Tessa leaned into Jem, nearly collapsing from exhaustion. It was freezing cold out, with winter upon them and snow fast approaching. This was by no means the first place this had happened. Other villages, towns, and small suburbs had been left empty over the past month. Their people vanished, leaving a skeleton of a civilization behind. 

“Oh Tessa, my love. Something is in the air. Something terrible is coming, something dark and awful looming just over our heads. Something we are unable to stop.” Tessa sighed, turning her face to Jem and pressing a gentle kiss to his lips. Pulling back then, Tessa gazed into his deep brown eyes, heartbroken at the helplessness in them. “I know, my Jem. I feel it too. Whatever is approaching is quick and unflinching and unhesitating. If we don’t find some way to stop this, more and more people are going to disappear. Whatever is doing this is targeting smaller places, for now. But who knows what the future might hold.” 

Now, time vanishes and the laws of physics shift as the aliens prepare. The young scream and shout, wailing for their parents. They’re being fed and given a drink, but their body rejects it and sends them into spasms of pain. So, the Keepers have opted to give them nothing. The most troublesome of the taken have had to be separated. Including a small dark haired male, shouting at them in a language they do not know. He was accompanied by another, younger male, blue in skin with small horns. This one had screamed and thrashed, requiring sedatives to be retrieved. Another pair had also put up a battle, a small brown haired male, and an older blonde who had held the younger in his arms, refusing to relinquish him. So, they took him too. Finally, the little female. Dark haired and dark eyed, she had said not a word since she arrived, just solemnly refusing to do anything. The keepers had an uncomfortable feeling that she was… waiting for somebody. 

However, all worries were banished when the war horn echoed over the land, signaling the start of the battle for the future. All of the aliens snapped to attention, gathering at the portal. They were ready to follow the first wave, who were still completing their mission of thinning the herd. Every day, more stolen beings passed through portals, all in varying states of confusion, fear, anger, and pain. But there wasn’t time to dwell on that now. After all, they were the most important part of this operation since the original soldiers. The ones who still lingered in that world, out of sight and out of mind. 

The remaining time ticked down to nothing, the portal opened, they rushed through, and the reckoning began. Over the next few days, humanity would be ravaged. Completely and utterly destroyed. Volcanoes would erupt, spewing fire and rock and choking, poisonous gas. Waves would rise to impossible heights, crashing into the shore with the force of a nuclear explosion. Thunderstorms would reign supreme, lightning striking and thunder booming. Blizzards would gather, burying hundreds of miles under snow and ice. Meteors would strike earth, obliterating entire cities in seconds. And humanity would be completely unprepared. 

Jem and Tessa returned to the surface after escorting yet another group of humans to an underground cave system. Ever since the first meteor hit, they had been guiding people to relatively safe underground caves. The wind was nearly strong enough to knock them over, but both stood steadfast. “We have to keep on getting people to safety. If we stop now, nobody will be left to save. So many people have already been killed.” Tessa managed to shout to Jem over the roaring windstorm. Jem stored across the plain, seized Tessa’s face gently in his hands, and pressed a kiss to her lips. It was quick, passionate, and said all the words they might not have the time to say. Pulling back, Jem gazed into her brilliant silver eyes, sighed, and spoke. “Oh my Tessa. Even in times of armageddon, you think only of others. You really are too good for this world.” Tessa’s face filled with emotion, but it quickly turned to terror. Wheeling around, Jem spotted a sight that sparked fear like he had never known. 

A rip had appeared in the sky, through which creatures were flying. Awful, unnatural, creatures that howled and growled and snarled and hissed. Except, they weren’t leaving wherever their home dimension was. They were flying from Earth back into the slit in the air. Realization hit Tessa and Jem with the force of a nuclear explosion. These creatures, whatever they were, must have caused… well, everything. The disease, the destruction, and even the lost children. This all meant that the only way to gain any closure or reclaim any shred of hope was to follow these creatures back to their home world. Tessa and Jem realized this at the same time, and began bolting towards the portal. Both were Shadowhunters and trained, and incredibly fast. Even with this, it looked unlikely that they would make it. 

Sprinting side by side, both Tessa and Jem had gritted teeth, screaming muscles, and were gasping for breath. Even with this, they were unwilling to give up and put on an extra burst of speed. Reaching the last alien, Tessa and Jem threw themselves forward, reaching for anything to hold on to. Tessa seized the back leg, wrapping both arms around it. Looking back, she realized with awful finality that Jem hadn’t reached the alien in time. Refusing even now to abandon her love, Tessa let go and tumbled to the ground, ignoring Jem’s yells. Wrapping both arms around Jem as tightly as she could, Tessa reached within her for any last remnants of strength and seized them. With her last breaths of consciousness, Tessa leapt into the air with Jem, aiming for the portal. Tumbling through it the second before it closed, Jem and Tessa didn’t even have time to feel relief before the roaring filled their ears and everything went black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes I did make that cliffhanger. 
> 
> Hope you enjoyed this fic. Leave any suggestions in the comments!


	4. The Search and The Rescue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Continuation.  
> I wonder where Jem and Tessa ended up.

Tessa and Jem hurtled through the portal, surrounded by roaring noise and buffering winds. Tessa had long since lost hold of the alien, throwing both at the mercy of interdimensional travel. Jem was doing his best to hold on to Tessa, and vice versa. And at first, they were successful. They managed to keep their grip on the other secure, willing their love, strength, and steely determination, to be enough to survive this particular storm. After several minutes of this, everything around the pair went eerily quiet. Everything seemed to still, and even the otherworldly winds ceased. Tessa and Jem barely had time to meet eyes before the world around them shifted and exploded with a sonic boom. Tessa and Jem were ripped apart, without even a chance to scream.

Tessa was thrown the opposite direction as Jem, hurtling through this alien gap between worlds. Twisting around, she spotted the hole seconds before she shot through it. All of a sudden, the world around her was filled with reds and browns, with a horizon filled with jagged cliffs and dark menacing peaks. Reeling left and right, up and down, Tessa didn’t have time to brace herself before she slammed into the hard packed ground with a sickening crack. 

A few hours later, she came to, sprawled over the earth. Sitting up and waiting for the world to stop spinning and lurching, Tessa took deep breaths to keep herself from tipping over the metaphorical cliff and into a mental void of no return. Once the world settled, Tessa took inventory of her injuries. She was badly scraped and bruised, but seemed to have avoided sprains and breaks. Her breath was coming in short gasps, but at least she was breathing. She was experiencing some sharp pains, leading to the likely circumstance of some fractured ribs. Forcing herself to her feet, she surveyed the world around her.

It was harsh and cruel, all in varying shades of black, red, and brown. There were mountains in one direction, high and skeletal. In two other directions, endless waves of sand and dirt with occasional boulders stretched on for what appeared to be miles. And in the final direction, Tessa spotted what appeared to be something that resembled a city. But there was no sign of who she truly wanted to see. There was no sign of Jem. She spent the next few hours looking for him, but no sign. In that moment, despair rose in a wave and threatened to drown Tessa. She allowed herself a few minutes of heaving sobs before she choked them down and filled her mind with unwavering determination. She knew that if she let herself go, she would never stop crying. So, setting her eyes on the distant city and squaring her shoulders resolutely, Tessa began to walk. 

Miles of earth disappeared under Tessa’s feet, each inch indistinguishable from the last. But she kept walking, even as the city seemed to be getting no closer. Without food or water in this deserted alien landscape, she knew she wouldn’t last long. So, Tessa stopped little, allowing herself only brief naps. Her eyes were constantly peeled for Jem, but everything around her showed no signs of motion, let alone people. So, that's how the next few days past. Tessa stubbornly walking, pushing herself closer and closer to the city, closer and closer to answers. Sometimes, Tessa felt so empty that she felt she might burst. Other times, so many emotions overwhelmed her she wanted to curl up and cry, laugh, and scream at the same time. But one thing remained constant. The glint in her eyes and her will to find revenge for all the lives that had been taken. 

Jem stopped at the outskirts of the strange city, concealing himself behind what appeared to be some sort of stone column. His hair was messed and sweat beaded his temple, his stomach growled from lack of food, and small pants echoed from his parched throat. He had searched for Tessa for hours but no sign of her. So, Jem had made for the alien city, not stopping for rest or anything else. Now that he had made it, he gaped up at the foreign architecture, filled with wonder despite himself. However, Jem’s main goal remained foremost on his mind. Find out what the hell was going on here. 

The next few hours were spent finding a safe way into the city. Matters were not made easier by the fact that it was swarming with creatures. Jem had never seen so many different beings in one place. They moved with surprising grace, even with their outside appearance. Jem finally managed to infiltrate the city, mainly by slipping down alleyways and sticking to the shadows. He made a beeline for a large, military looking building. Slipping in through a side entrance, Jem found himself in a tiny room. Looking upwards, he spotted movement and brief flashes of light. He heard the alien’s language being spoken, and found that all of a sudden he could understand it. Silently concealing himself behind a few crates, Jem proceeded to listen. 

“Yes. Wave 3 has been successfully executed. It won’t be long before their world is ours and we can leave this one behind.” A pause. “Our soldiers did excellently. They were trained well.”  
“Are you very sure none of their kind survived besides the young we stole?” At that, Jem felt his chest tighten and his breath began to come in jerky gasps. If somebody knew him and Tessa had survived, he didn’t want to know what would happen.  
“Yes. I am very sure. Don’t worry General. It won’t be long now. The little ones are almost ready for transport. They’re in High Risk Unit 23. Go and prepare the guides for moving them.” Shuffling began to come from overhead, but Jem was already moving.

Sprinting out the door silently, Jem waited. He had no idea where “High Risk Unit 23” was, but the alien he was going to follow did. So, when a part wolf part lizard appeared, Jem trailed it as silently and as fluidly as a shadow. Through streets and across roads, past buildings and what even appeared to be houses. Finally, they arrived at a blocky building clearly built for functionality and not comfort. Jem peeled off from the alien then. It was time for him to make a plan of his own. 

The next hour passed a blur of planning and mapping out the building as best he could. With still no sign of Tessa, Jem prepared to rescue the kids by himself. From that point on, he could try to find his wife. Jem was unwilling to attempt any form of escape without her. However, the second Jem entered that building, everything would once again crumble to dust. 

Once Jem was actually inside the building, it was surprisingly easy. All he had to do was dodge some guards and creaky floorboards, and the unlocked door to the prison block was right in front of him. Opening it cautiously, Jem saw the most beautiful sight possibly to ever exist. 

There was Tessa, alive and standing in front of the kids. Jem sprinted into the room, catching Tessa in his arms, crying and laughing at the same time. Tessa, upon sensing it was him, made a small choked sound of joy and pressed her lips to his. Murmuring comforts and small happy nothings, Jem ran his fingers over her being, checking for damage. Tessa was doing much the same thing, both feeling happier than they had in quite a while. Maybe the universe had decided to be kind to them, to offer a reprieve. In hindsight however, they would wonder how they considered it to be possible. 

Turning to the kids, Jem rushed forward at the sight of all of them. There was Tavvy and Kit, Max and Rafe, and all the other Shadowhunter children. But, best of all for them, there was Mina. Dark eyes shining with joy, their daughter sprinted forward into her parent’s arms upon being set free. Crying with joy, they proceeded to free all the other kids. But happiness made them sloppy. So when Jem and Tessa had just finished comforting the scared looking children and telling them what they were going to do, it shouldn’t have been surprising when the floor rumbled. It shouldn’t have been surprising when the door to the cell opened and an army of aliens poured in. It shouldn't have been surprising. But it was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, another cliffhanger. 
> 
> Leave any thoughts in the comments!


	5. The End

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Continuation. 
> 
> What will happen to Tessa and Jem?

Everything happened way too quickly for any reaction besides chaos. Aliens of all forms poured in from so many entrances that Jem’s head spun. The kids instantly burst into tears, sobbing and screaming and wailing. This had no effect on the alien soldiers, who surrounded them and hustled them out of the room, despite the efforts of the older ones to resist. Kit had swept up Tavvy in his arms, and was stubbornly refusing to let go of the toddler. Max and Rafe were raising hell, kicking and yelling. All the other children were crying and sobbing, but seemed to have been shocked into submission. Only Mina went quietly and without a fight. Her dark eyes were thoughtful but her face revealed nothing, having settled on a calm docile mask. At that moment, nobody could have known what she was thinking or what she was feeling. 

With this series of events, Tessa snapped. The aliens had pulled her and Jem appart, and were holding them tightly. But Tessa was having none of it. Her warlock’s magic wasn’t working here, a fact she knew since she had tried multiple times to locate Jem through it. But when Tessa was angry, there wasn’t any stopping her. She wrenched herself from the alien’s grasp, vibrating head to toe with anger. Tessa might be a hundreds of years old warlock, but she was by no means frail and took down atleast 10 aliens before she was wrestled to the ground. Catching one last glimpse of Mina before her daughter was removed from the room, Tessa shouted at her daughter to stay safe, to stay alive, and that her parents would always come for her. 

Tessa was again forced to her feet and turned to face what appeared to be the highest ranking alien here. Casting her eyes to Jem’s, both silently acknowledged that they would escape and find the kids again as soon as possible, but for now they needed to pretend to give up. Sighing, Tessa sagged and put up a defeated air, with Jem following suit. The head alien smiled smugly, and it couldn’t have been clearer that it considered himself to have earned a victory. And then it began talking, to which Jem and Tessa found they could still understand it. 

“It appears the trap we have laid for you succeeded. Did you really think it would be that easy to sneak into our city? Into our main military base? Into our high risk prison block?” The alien shook its bear-like head with a condescending air. “I really would have expected the lone survivors of an ancient warrior race to be smarter. But then, you survived only because we allowed you too. No combination of luck or skill could have granted you life when we wanted you to perish. But it does not matter now. Your children will be coming with us when we move into your old world. By now, there will be so few humans that it will be easy to get rid of them. Even with your pathetic little bunker.” Tessa’s face paled at that, and the alien chuckled. “Yes. We know all about the bunker. And we will leave it be, it poses no threat anyway.” The alien paused. “You however. You two pose a threat, however mild. So I have decided that you will be left here, in this world. It’s extremely toxic for your kind, but over long periods of time. Your end won’t be pleasant.”

At this point, Tessa and Jem were feeling extremely sick and scared. Trembling all over, heart’s shattering, hungry and thirsty, reeling with realization, but doing their best to hide all of those. 

“Oh, and if you’re wondering what we’re going to do with the kids, you needn’t worry. They will live long lives, being taught all about how their parents and their friends abandoned them to be taken. They will revere us as gods, and hate you with all their hearts. They are still young, with malleable brains and changeable memories. It wouldn’t be surprising if they were to return to take revenge.” The alien stopped talking, letting the silence stretch out. As much as the parents wanted to believe that would never happen, both knew better. Years of witnessing pain and hurt for both of them had more than opened their eyes to the harsh realities of existence and the attributes of the brain. 

The aliens, satisfied that they had proved their point, threw Jem and Tessa into separate cells, locked them tightly, and pocketed the key. As the group of aliens filed out of the room, they pulled large panels of rock and what appeared to be some type of strange metal in front of the door. With each sickening clang, the room was farther plunged into darkness, and Tessa and Jem drifted farther into their minds. When the last rock slab was pushed against the door, sickening silence and deadly finality descended. Tessa turned into Jem, and finally, finally, allowed herself to cry. She screamed and wailed, flailed and pounded the floor of the cell until her hands were bloody. Through all of this, Jem held her close and let her cry. He understood deep in his bones that this was the end. There were no more miracles or second chances after this. 

Outside, far into the desert, a portal had been opened. The city had been emptied, with nothing but remnants left behind. Remnants, and two warlocks who would never manage to leave. The last ones through the portal were the children. The poor, confused, weeping children who wanted nothing more than to see their parents. The children that would be shaped into coldhearted murderers, the children whose emotions would be stamped out. The children who would be forced to live on the ashes of their families. 

-20 years passed-

Tessa raised her head, blearily blinking her eyes. She had heard a sound outside, coming from an unknown source. It had been so long since she had heard something besides Jem… so unbearably long... Time had passed in waves and rivers, sometimes passing slowly, other times going so fast it seemed that years passed in hours. There had been some times that Tessa had wished she had died. It had been 20 long years of no food, no water. 20 long years of breathing dusty air and being stuck in one small cell. 20 long years of wondering what had happened to her daughter. 20 long years of wishing for death but not being allowed to die, preserved by whatever lingering alien magic remained. 

But now, finally, the axe was falling. The door to the cellblock opened, admitting a small group of people. They appeared to be in their mid-twenties, lithe and strong, and… Tessa’s eyes widened as she realized exactly who those people must be. Jem stiffened, seemingly realizing it too. There was Rafe, tall and dark haired and stone faced and imposing. He was being shadowed by a younger boy, blue skinned and horned, with an expression of undying hate on his face. Despite everything, Tessa wanted to laugh hysterically. Even now, after so long, Max was still his older brother’s shadow. At the back of the group was Tavvy, brown haired and holding a dagger in each hand. And then, at the head of the group, was the person that would hurt the most to see. Mina. Their Mina. Looking at them with disgust and anger. That look shattered whatever remained of Tessa and Jem, and both curled up tightly, unable to face their daughter. 

“Well. Look at what has become of the once mighty Tessa and Jem. Looking at you now, I’m not surprised you gave us up. You’re cowards. You and everyone else.” Tessa looked up, suddenly realizing that somebody was missing. “Where’s Kit?” she asked, already dreading the answer. Tavvy laughed, cold and empty. “I disposed of him years ago. He refused to accept the truth, so I got rid of him. He was a drag, always going on about how you loved us and tried to save us.” Tavvy looked thoughtful. “I wonder why he would do that. He was probably put up to it by you. Seems like something you’d do anyway.” 

Tessa’s heart and Jem’s broke even more at that, if it was even possible. In the time where they still could converse, they agreed that Kit was their last hope. He was old enough to remember what had really happened. But it seemed like the aliens had won, again. Tavvy had been the youngest, so it made cruel sense that he would be the one that turned easiest and stayed there. Nevertheless, it hurt. So much. Turning to Max and Rafe, Tessa appealed to them with every last ounce of her soul. But she was unsuccessful. Rafe merely turned away, ignoring them. Max though, he spoke up. “You killed my dads! I hate you!” Jem attempted to speak up, but was cut off by Mina. “Enough talking! We came here to get rid of them, not to chat.” At that, she pulled out a key and unlocked the cell. Gesturing for them to get out, she withdrew a long, evil dagger from her pack. 

Tessa and Jem forced themselves to their feet to exit the cell. Once they made their way out, Mina forced them to their knees, along with the phrase “Die on your knees, like the awful people you are.” Jem’s hand found Tessa’s, gripping it as tightly as he could muster. Every last memory, every last shred of love and happiness flew between them in that moment, as they kneeled, surrounded by the people who had once looked at them with love and admiration. People who know looked at them with hate, anger, and condescension. There was not a worse feeling in existence then watching love turn to hate, and joy turn to anger. There was no worse pain then being surrounded by people you loved with all your heart, knowing they wanted you dead and wouldn’t lose sleep over it. As Mina braced herself and prepared to kill them, and as the others closed ranks around them, Tessa and Jem prepared for the book of their lives to be shut. 

The twisted circle of life closed as Mina shoved the dagger into Jem’s heart and let him fall limp to the floor. As Tessa wept, trembling, falling to the floor beside him, holding tight to her husband and refusing to let go. As Tessa screamed in pain and hurt as Mina ripped her mother away from her father, and looked her in the eyes. As Mina whispered, “You deserve this” and drove the dagger into Tessa’s heart as well. As Mina let her mother fall beside her father, turned and exited the room, gesturing for the others to follow. 

In the end, the creeping corruption won. It won with hate and deceit and lies. It won with rage and anger and disgust. It won with murder and blood and emptiness and death. It won, as the children now adults entered a portal back. As they looked out over the cruel new world they called home, not turning back and leaving the last shards of their old life behind, stabbed in the heart, with tears still streaking their faces, the darkness finally won.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ........... I am so sorry
> 
> Leave any thoughts in the comments!


End file.
